Getting Past "Making God Happy"

I don't know about you, but I struggle with this.  Or maybe you have never even considered this a struggle before.  But it just dawned upon me in recent weeks that I have a performance complex.  I mean I have known that for a while now, I tend to want to be perfect, do everything perfect, and am extremely hard on myself when something is not executed with um, perfection.

Well, I also do this as I strive to make God happy.  I find myself in prayer saying, "I want to please you Lord."  The issue is here, is that I already do, by just being his daughter.  Can you imagine as a parent, looking at your child and repeatedly, every day they were just looking up at you saying "I just want to make you happy mommy/daddy."  At first as a human you may think it cute, but once they start saying that day after day, you may become worried because they can't get past the fact that they already do by just being them!

I heard a great analogy from one of my friends Kenny.  It goes as this::

A dad bought his kids a play set and he was so excited to give it to them.  When he unveiled it they were excited, but remained at his side instead of playing on it.  They kept tugging at his pants saying, "Daddy I just want to make you happy! I will just be with you!"  But the dad would be so happy to see his kids happy delighting in the gift he just gave them!

Don't we do that so often? I do at least.  Sometimes God just allows me to enjoy all that he has given me but I am so worried about making him happy that I miss it!

In closing, I am writing this partly for you and partly for me.  It will serve as a reminder to me that being a daughter of the most high king, I make Him happy by just being me.  You make him happy by being you!  This is not a license to no longer grow,  or to remain entangled in toxic areas in your life,  you'd be missing the point.  This is a reminder to take a rest sometimes and remember just how valuable you are!

xo, Kelsey Belle

Getting Past "Making God Happy"